"Mind if I scratch and pet you?" Charlie didn't seem to mind asking. He didn't seem bothered about it at all; then again, he was taking the talking cat bit in stride. He patted his lap, as if to further the invite.
"The Mother? What is the Mother? A ship, or an actual mother? A great big cat or just ...a mother?" He squinted as if he were trying to see through all this. "Why the mother? Of course, mothers are more important than fathers, read that somewhere. At least to prolong the species. You have to have more females to prevent genetic something or other."